Sacramento’s free instrument-lending library will soon close its doors

Seven years ago, Mary Sand was the first person to ever check out an instrument from the Library of MusicLandria. It was an omnichord – a 1980’s-era electronic instrument known for its harplike, yet robotic, sound. It often costs at least a couple of hundred dollars. 

But through the library, Sand got her hands on it for free. She’s been a frequent visitor of the library since. 

“Not only did I get to experiment with new equipment but this space and concept has really widened my awareness of Sacramento's artist community,” she said. “Getting to meet rad people just made me kind of stick around longer and fall in love with Sacramento community.”

Musicians use instruments provided by the Library of MusicLandria.Courtesy of Buddy Hale

Starting in a Roseville garage, the Library of MusicLandria has moved around a lot over the last few years. The library’s founder, Buddy Hale, said it has moved to a new space on a near-annual basis. But its core has stayed the same: A place where locals can rent out any instrument from the library’s vast catalog for free. The catalog carried over 600 instruments and pieces of musical gear, covering everything from cables and effects pedals to violins and electric guitars.  

But now, MusicLandria is saying goodbye. After receiving notice in June, Hale said the lending library is losing its current space and will have to move out by the end of July. And unlike what happened in past years, he said the current incarnation of the library is coming to an end. 

“After having moved seven times … it feels like this is the time for us to have a permanent space,” he said. “Moving once a year is not sustainable for any organization, and if we want this thing to really thrive and be around for future generations, we need a new kind of support.”

MusicLandria shares its current building with another nonprofit, which Hale said has been an additional difficulty in keeping it going.

The Library of MusicLandria’s current space is pictured on July 11, 2023. MusicLandria must move out of its current space by the end of July.Manola Secaira / CapRadio

“The whole time we've been here… we've basically been a pop up every single day,” he said. “The reality of that has been very hard to manage. Imagine having to set up and break down your business every single day.”

MusicLandria’s catalog of instruments and recording accessories was almost entirely bought up by locals by early July. Hale said he plans to direct funds raised from the sales to whatever comes next for the library. That could mean finding a new space or if that’s not possible, something else altogether. 

“So if we can't get a permanent home, what can we do with the resources and the community that we have?” Hale said. “That's exactly where we're at as an organization and as a group, as a community of musicians – like okay, let's take a breath and really evaluate where the music community is at and better understand what the community needs right now.”

Ryan Sladek, MusicLandria’s lead librarian, has moved out equipment and run the library during its final month. In the last year, he has regularly helped Hale set up and tear down the library’s shelves and events equipment. 

“I would say it's definitely a bittersweet feeling to be emptying out this space,” he said. “After the isolation of COVID, this space is the first community that I really reconnected back with… and [made] amazing connections with musicians in the area that I don't think would have been possible without the community here.” 

Lizzy Reavis, a volunteer who learned about the library this year, said she’s similarly formed new relationships at MusicLandria. 

“It really has kind of opened my eyes as to what really keeps nonprofits, what really keeps local things in your community running, which is support from people,” she said. “That support has really shifted how I view community, too.” 

Through the library, Reavis said she’s been able to try out new musical equipment like drum machines and synthesizers. Both typically cost hundreds of dollars and Reavis said it would have been difficult for her to find a way to use this kind of equipment  without the library’s help. 

“You can just go and rent it for two weeks and use it in your home or at your studio or whatever on your own time,” she said of her experience with MusicLandria. “It's opened up a lot of creative doors for me.” 

As MusicLandria’s current artist-in-residence, Sand said it’s been tricky figuring out what to do as the library prepares to close. But already, she said they’ve gotten creative; recently, she said they headed to Sacramento’s oldest church – St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on J street – to record. She said it has particularly good acoustics. 

While she describes the library’s current situation as “tragic,” she said she’s also optimistic. 

“I think that everything that MusicLandria has grown into has great potential to keep going in a new way,” she said.  

Hale said he will continue the library’s residency program, which supports artists by helping them record and release a project, after the space closes. He sees the possibility of recording more music in unconventional places as part of the program’s future. 

“I really think that MusicLandria could be amazing with a permanent space,” Hale said. “But I also think that if we can't get that, we're going to try really hard to do something even better.”

The library will stay open during its normal 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. hours Monday through Friday until it permanently exits its space at the end of July. Hale said anyone is welcome to come by and make final returns or talk to volunteers about the library’s future.